If you stay in some bits of the Washington area and pay attention you'll almost certainly see bald eagles, as the story says recovered from where there weren't enough left to be sure they'd keep going. The septics didn't want their national icon to, well, die out. Bit awkward.

You know, I'm sick of following my dreams, man. I'm just going to ask where they're going and hook up with 'em later.

Musson Grumble wrote:Staggering. No more olives for me. The thought that there are reportedly 400+ million fewer birds in Europe today than there were 30 years ago is an endictment of our society.

Every little helps I suppose, but I would put money on the use of pesticides having had a much greater impact. I read somewhere that 1/3 of farmland birds have disappeared in France due to modern agricultural practices, and that the figures a similar across Europe including the UK. Pesticides = no insects = no birds.

Guess we can still buy olives from Spain since they’ve banned the practices according to the article.

Basically a meat free burger that apparently looks, tastes, has the same texture and smells like the real thing, and it is good for the environment. Currently selling at hundreds of places across the US. Anyone had one?

I’ve not tried the Yank version, but a store in Sweden sells something called. “Juicy Vegan Burger” which sounds similar. I tried them and thought they were pretty awful - I haven’t eaten meat for >30 years though so I might not be the best judge.

Did a quick search and see that a couple of local chains in Stockholm sell the original “Beyond Meat burger” now so I will give them a go and see if they’re any better.

eric olthwaite wrote:Mrs O and I are well on the way to being vegetarian, and we've agreed that neither of us will fly again, barring emergencies.

But then the other day I'd just finished a Snickers, and then read an article saying that the country with the fastest rate of rainforest deforestation is Ghana, where it's being cleared to grow cocoa beans to meet the West's ever-increasing demand for chocolate.

I fuckin' give up.

I stopped eating meat when I was 17 and got really into animals rights, as only teenagers can do, went to all the demos, read all the lit, saw the videos (well before the internet) at Leeds Animal Rights meetings, spent loads of time down the end of Brigate demonstrating when McDonald’s opened their first restaurant in Leeds. Was great fun. After a year I was a strict vegan cutting out every type of food that was “abusive” to my values, brought half my food from Beano paying ridiculous prices for organic potatoes and ecover washing powder that never got anything clean. Luckily the group also had a food coop, and we stated buying food wholesale, otherwise I’d probably have starved,

Anyway. It ended up that ritually the only thing I could eat was potatoes I’d grown in my own back garden and fertilized using my own crap. When the skin started peeling off my fingers I realized I had probably taken it too far. Taught me a lesson for life. The food industry is invariably shit, and it’s definitely worse today that it was in 1984-5, so all you can do is your best.

Being a vegetarian these days is easy, you don’t need shite like “beyond meat” but it’s good for folks, like me, who are lazy as fuck, too busy to think too much about what they throw down their necks, and who can afford to pay three times the price or more for a burger.

Any of you lot use that Too Good To Go app? Not a lot of use when I'm at work due to location but a great idea. Plenty of places in Leeds city centre where you can pick up a bag of food on your way home for a couple of quid.

You agree not to post any abusive, obscene, vulgar, slanderous, hateful, threatening or sexually-orientated material. Doing so may lead to you being immediately and permanently banned.Hmmm.

Good on them for trying, but if you wanted a meaningful trial surely you'd want them to do a dozen stores in different areas?

When I was a student in Hudds in the eighties there was a 'fill your own bag' type supermarket on the precinct, but the name escapes me. Always went there for ultra-cheap cornflakes and fags.

Morrisons seem to be making the most effort lately. Paper bags for shopping at the check outs, paper bags for fruit and veg, cutting back plastic wrapping on other stuff across the store. Baby steps but good to see.

You agree not to post any abusive, obscene, vulgar, slanderous, hateful, threatening or sexually-orientated material. Doing so may lead to you being immediately and permanently banned.Hmmm.

This War on Plastic programme is just really depressing. The shit about plastic recycling in council recycling bags going to Malaysia; fucking hell. And I hadn’t appreciated how much more expensive loose fruit and veg is.